FRANCE: Bastille Day (July 14)

To some kids, July 14th is just a regular Friday in the midst of summer vacation. But to those who live in France, July 14th is a national holiday called Bastille Day.

The holiday commemorates the day way back in 1789 when a group of lower-class Parisians, who were fed up with the policies of the King, stormed the city's Bastille prison – an action which, in turn, launched the whole country into a revolution and eventually freed the country from the narrow-minded rulers.

You see, to the lower classes, the Bastille represented every thing that was wrong with France especially the strict and unreasonable monarchy and nobody wants to live like that! It'd be like having really mean parents who have total control over everything and never listen to anything that you say.

Bastille Day to the French, is like July 4th for us. Both holidays mark independence and the start of new and improved governments. Today, Parisians have a huge celebration with a military parade up the famous Champs Elysées. There are also many fun art festivals and lots of parties including a spectacular fireworks show at the Eiffel Tower! So to all our French friends we say "Bonne Fête!"